“They pull for a long time with an answer”: the HRC is concerned about the fate of the “hacker” Alexei Burkov arrested at the request of the United States

The Presidential Council on Human Rights intends to demand from the Israeli authorities to explain what fate awaits the Russian hacker Alexei Burkov, as well as provide a report on the conditions of his detention in prison. This was reported to RT by a member of the HRC, Alexander Brod.

As RT reported, 29-year-old Alexei Burkov was arrested at the request of Interpol in Israel back in 2015. The US accuses the Russian of hacking and credit card fraud.

“The Burkov case is under the control of the Russian Foreign Ministry. A letter will be prepared by our HRC commission on international cooperation in the field of human rights to the Israeli embassy in Moscow. We will ask for clarification of the conditions of detention of Burkov and his future fate, ”Brod said.

The interlocutor notes that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia for several years has not been able to obtain consideration by the Israeli court of a request for extradition of Burkov to his homeland, where a criminal case has also been instituted against him.

“They take too long to answer. I think this is disrespectful to the fate of our citizen, ”says Broad.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs RT explained that Russian diplomats sent notes to the Israeli authorities several times in connection with the Burkov case.

“In April 2017, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia filed a request to the Israeli authorities to extradite the Russian citizen Alexei Burkov, who was arrested at the request of the United States in 2015,” the department’s press service noted. - To date, no official reaction to it has been received from the Israeli side. The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tel Aviv regularly sends official notes to the competent authorities of the State of Israel on the consideration of the Russian request for extradition of Burkov. These appeals also remain unanswered. ”

The Foreign Ministry emphasizes that the Russian side considers the campaign of the arrests of Russians in third countries launched by the US authorities unacceptable on false charges and intends to continue efforts to protect Burkov’s legitimate rights and interests with a view to his speedy return to his homeland.

Reciprocity pardon

As RT previously reported, the Burkova family turned to diplomats with a request to initiate an exchange of a Russian citizen for Naama Issakhar, an Israeli and US citizen sentenced in Russia to seven and a half years in prison for drug smuggling. Israeli authorities said such an exchange was not possible, since the country's Supreme Court had already decided that Burkov should be extradited to the United States. However, Burkov can be extradited to the United States only if Israeli Minister of Justice Amir Ohana signs the relevant decree.

At the same time, Israeli authorities are asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to pardon Issahar. Official appeals to Putin were earlier sent by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the same time, as Alexander Brod explains, a petition for clemency must be submitted according to certain rules.

“There is a necessary procedure: to apply for clemency to the head of state should either the convicted herself or her representative,” Brod explains. “As a result, if the necessary procedure is followed, the president will be able to consider the petition.”

Russian officials believe that to meet this request, Israel must, in turn, make concessions.

“In the case of Issakhar, I think the conditions of reciprocity must be met,” said Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s committee on international affairs, in an interview with RT. - If the Israelis ask for mercy and release her, then they should take some retaliatory steps. I understand that they do not want to quarrel with the Americans, betraying Burkov to Russia. Nevertheless, they cannot ignore the interests of Russia in such a situation. ”

The interlocutor notes that the retention of the Russian in Israel is yet another proof that the United States extends its jurisdiction to the whole world.

“This is the supremacy of American laws over international law. This is a huge problem, ”he said.

“We saw this on the example of Viktor Bout, Konstantin Yaroshenko, other Russians,” Brod summarizes. - They are extradited to the United States and kept there in extremely difficult conditions, often without access to lawyers, Russian diplomats. The international community, the UN and the Council of Europe, the lawyer community should pay attention to such incidents, to the conditions of detention of people, calling for an objective consideration of cases at the investigation stage and in the courts. ”